Second Chances
by Hidden By Shadow
Summary: Douglas Cartland travels to Silent Hill one last time. There he becomes involved in the fates of three other people. Is there any way Douglas can save them, or himself?
1. Chapter 1: Entering Silent Hill

Second Chances

Disclaimer: Konami own Silent Hill, Capcom own Resident Evil. I own neither. Surprise, surprise!

_AN: Okay, here's another horror story, this time a crossover between Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Hopefully, I won't screw up the characters too much, but this is a horror fic, so don't be surprised if characters aren't acting the same way they were in the games, since this takes place after all the games the characters come from. Remember to rate and review._

Chapter One: Entering Silent Hill

The roads leading up to Silent Hill were all deserted, due to the lateness of the hour. Only a single car was heading for the town, it's lights turned on. Inside, clothes and papers were scattered around. In the driver's seat, Douglas Cartland drove fiercly. The radio was not on in the car and so there was nothing to really distract him from the thoughts that had been going through his mind ever since he had left Silent Hill the last time. Only that time, the passenger seat had been occupied. He'd kept in touch with Cheryl Mason for a few months, but gradually Douglas' demons came to haunt him, and he ceased calling her every week as he had been. He didn't need any more reminders of his failure. His disgrace. Although Cheryl had never ever blamed him for what happened, saving all of her anger and her hate for that eyebrowless bitch in the black dress, Douglas still felt he was responcible. He had investigated the leads, he had made contact, he had given Claudia Wolf all she had needed to track down Harry Mason and have him murdered. Douglas felt the guilt, as if he himself had done the deed. Had stabbed Harry in the chest, had left him to bleed out in his chair, left him for Cheryl to find. That was mainly the reason he had quit his own business as a private investigator. He couldn't bear to add any more guilt. He'd tried at first to resume his life, but every case made him think of Cheryl and how her life had been destroyed because Douglas had found her.

So, Douglas had decided to do what he thought was inevitable. He could not go on living with the guilt of having brought death to a happy household. He was going to Silent Hill, where he would destroy all records of his life's work before destroying himself. He had seen what had happened to the town, it's ways of forcing people to see the truth in front of them, no matter how terrifying to would be. He hoped he'd be able to enter the desolate, isolated Silent Hill he had seen with Cheryl. He did not fancy driving into Toluca Lake with people watching. Douglas turned the car around a bend in the highway and saw what looked like a crashed jeep in front of him, to close to avoid. Slamming on his brakes, he forced the wheel hard to the right, trying to make the back of his car take the blow. When it made contact with the jeep, it forced Douglas' car to turn to the left. As his car screeched to a halt, Douglas was thrown against the window and knocked out. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was snow starting to fall.

Coming around slowly, Douglas shook his head to clear his vision. Looking around, he could see his car was totalled. There was no way he'd be able to drive it anywhere in this condition, let alone drive it into Toluca Lake. Douglas opened his door and slumped out onto the tarmac. The snow was starting to fall heavily now. Staggering to the other vehicle, he wrenched the door open and put his head in. He was falling back into his investigative habits, searching for any clue to whose jeep it was. Fishing around in the glove compartment, he eventually found a library card. Turning it over so he could see the name of the owner, his eyes widened in shock. The library card belonged to Harry Mason. Douglas quickly exited the jeep and slammed the door. It just wasn't possible. Harry's jeep had been crashed into a barrier over twenty years before. It shouldn't be on the main highway. Douglas staggered back to his car and leant on the bonnet. He was somewhere in Silent Hill and it was snowing. He decided to follow the highway into town, from there he'd walk out to Toluca Lake and jump in. It wouldn't be as quick as if he drove in, but death was death, no matter what form it took. Douglas started walking, until he heard the radio in his car start blaring static. He turned around to see the headlights flashing. He followed the beams to the floor to see a map sticking out of the snow. Snatching it up, he unfolded it to see it was a map of Old Silent Hill. It had two marks which had been added in red ink. On one was marked "You are here." and was followed by an arrow pointing to the highway that bypassed Old Silent Hill. The other was written over Midwich Elementary School and simply read "Go here.". Finding the map with annotations wasn't the weirdest part for Douglas. What was the weirdest part was the handwriting of the annotations. He couldn't be completely certain but it looked almost exactly like the handwriting he had seen on the cover of Harry Mason's notebook that Cheryl had shown him. Douglas walked over to the end of the highway and looked down. Below him was another road, which according to the map was Bachman Road. Looking around, he found a gress verge behind the barrier that went down to the road. Climbing over the barrier, Douglas jumped and slid down to Bachman Road.

Looking around, Douglas started to walk down Bachman Road, heading for Finny Street. The snow started to fall heavily now, coating the sidewalks and the roads. Douglas starting running to try to keep warm. Running to the intersection of Bachman Road and Finney Street, he turned right onto Fnney Street and started running down towards the end of the street, where it cut onto Midwich Street. Running past the intersection with Levin Street, Douglas kept going until he noticed the road surface was cracked. Slowing down, he gazed down the road and noted that it ended abruptly, as if something had cut down the road and left a bottomless pit in it's place. With the snowfall, Douglas couldn't see across to the other side of the pit, so decided to turn back and head down Levin Street and then turn right at Matheson Street. As he did, he noticed that it was getting dark quite quickly. Douglas ran faster, his heart pounding, He continued to the end of Matheson Street and finally onto Midwich street, he turned and ran into the school's foyer, the door slamming shut behind him.


	2. Chapter 2: Midwich Elementary

Second Chances

Disclaimer: Konami own Silent Hill. I don't. Surprise, surprise!

Chapter Two: Midwich Elementary

Douglas looked around the gloomy foyer to the elementary school. Sighing, he withdrew a flashlight from his coat pocket and clicked it on. Although it was only a pen light, it was enough for the moment. Walking through the foyer doors into a corridor, Douglas glanced around. The school walls paint was peeling off the wall in some areas and posters hung limply from the wall, their surface rendered illegible by the dirt that covered them. Douglas turned to his left and walked towards the reception desk. Perched upon it was a folded up map and a sheet of notebook paper. Glancing at the sheet of paper, Douglas noted that it was covered in Harry Mason's handwriting.

"_Mr. Cartland,_

_This must all seem a bit odd to you, but its the only way I could think of helping you. At this moment, there are three other people within the town. As I'm sure you are aware from your investigations and previous experiences of the town, these people have reasons of their own for being here. There is nothing more that I can tell you now, except to head for the library on the second floor. Most of the doors are locked, so the quickest way is to head down the corridor, past the nurse's office and up the stairs behind the double doors. Turn right and head down the corridor to the library. Answers await you there._

_H. Mason."_

Douglas folded up the note and placed it into his coat pocket. Placing both his palms on the reception desk, he closed his eyes. There wasn't a single logical reason he could think of for him to be receiving notes from Harry Mason, much less two maps which Douglas presumed were also from Harry. Picking up the map, he unfolded it to see where he was going and then folded it back up, placing it in his pocket. Turning back around, Douglas started walking down the corridor. Pushing open one of the heavy wooden doors, Douglas walked across another corridor and up the stairs to the second floor of Midwich Elementary. Turning right, he headed straight down the corridor, his shoes clicking on the tiled floor. When he came to the door of the library, he stopped before placing his hand on the door handle and walking in. The library was like the rest of the corridors, peeling paint on the walls and clutter on the floor. One thing that caught Douglas' eye in amongst the chaos were three brown folders that had been placed one upon the other on a desk. The top folder bore a large logo which resembled an umbrella with red and white sections. Douglas sat down at the desk and looked at the first file. It seemed to be a personnel record from a company named as the Umbrella Corporation. Douglas opened the file to the first page and started reading. Far from being a personnel file, it seemed to be a narrative on a person. One particular part had been underlined, drawing Douglas' eye to it.

"_Ashford, A. Twenty-Seven. Killed own brother and responcible for the mutation of both her father and herself, died after being shot by the Redfields. Justice and revenge are being served."_

Douglas closed the file and slid it away from him, grabbing the next file in the sequence. Again, it had a section underlined. Skipping the rest, Douglas read that particular section.

"_Birkin, W. Thirty-Six. Responcible for the deaths of countless civilians during the Raccoon City incident, as well as the death of Dr. Marcus. Died after being caught in the explosion of a company evacuation train. Justice and revenge are being served."_

Again, Douglas closed the file and turned his attention to the last file. Again, another underlined passage greeting him.

"_Wesker, A. Forty-Nine. Responcible for the deaths of multiple civilians and police officers. Worked for Umbrella to research the Tyrant virus before transferring to Raccoon Police Department. Died after burning in a volcano due to the actions of Christopher Redfield. Justice and revenge are being served."_

Douglas closed the file and slid it away from him. His thoughts were filled with the contents of the pages he had read. Sighing, he noticed a sheet of paper that had been placed under the stack of files. Although it was handwritten, it wasn't Harry's handwriting. It looked closer to Cheryl Mason's handwriting but it was slightly different.

"_Four people marching into their self-made oblivions._

_Who knows what awaits them?_

_The first valued beauty and intellect above all else._

_For these she sacrificed her family's name and her honour._

_Now she lives in a constant state of fear._

_A state of her own creation._

_The second was pushed by ego and ambition._

_He too sacrificed his family at the altar of knowledge._

_Developing a powerful weapon, whose form he now inhabits._

_A form of his own creation._

_The third was motivated by his own personal gain._

_Sacrificing any who stood in his way, with some who stood by him._

_Having become a god, he has now fallen far below._

_A fall of his own creation._

_The fourth was pushed by bitterness and anger._

_Clouding the world with his own delisions of guilt._

_Pushed to the brink of despair, he thought himself beyond redemption._

_Despair of his own creation._

_Four people marching into their self-made oblivions._

_Can they save themselves?_

_Can they shatter their creations?_

_Only time will tell."_

Douglas reread the sheet of paper before pocketing it. Somehow, he felt it was important to keep it. Resting his head in his hands, his thoughts spun with all the information he had gathered. Douglas started to feel nauseous, and put his head on the table, the room seeming to spin around him as he passed out, his vision fading to black.

Douglas returned to consciousness feeling nauseous. The library was pitch black, so Douglas took out his pen light and clicked it on. The walls were covered in muck and grime, furniture had mostly rotted away. The floor was made of a grated mesh that didn't feel very stable under Douglas' feet. Douglas moved the penlight around the room. On one wall, someone had scrawled two words in blood. 'Boiler Room'. Underneath the words were two objects. Douglas walked over to them. They were an old lighter and an aerosol can. Douglas picked them up and placed them both in the pockets of his coat. Walking back to the door, Douglas opened it cautiously. Looking out, he didn't see any threat in his field of vision, so he left the library and started walking down the corridor to the stairs. He moved slowly, expecting something to attack him. He remembered all to well what had happened the last time he had set foot in Silent Hill. The flashlight flicking left and right, Douglas reached the stairs and started to descend down to the basement. Glancing at the map, he found that the boiler room was the room on the right after walking down the stairs. Heading over to the door, he opened it carefully, and poked his pen light in. The room seemed to be deserted. Douglas walked in and closed the door. The room seemed to be an elongated parody of a child's bedroom. The walls were covered in purple wallpaper and what pictures where hung on the wall were all of ant colonies. On one of the collapsed desks in the room lay a model of an ant farm. Douglas flicked his pen light around the room, trying to take in every detail. The fact that it was different from the rest of the school had the hair on the back of his neck standing up. Finally, he spotted something out of place. In the corner of the room, lay what looked like a huge dragonfly. Only as Douglas moved the light over it, it seemed to have slightly human characteristics, such as a face. The wings were visibly destroyed, Douglas wondered if it was dead, or dying. Douglas moved forward slowly. He stopped when he noticed what looked like two eyes on the dragonfly's 'face' open up. Both were staring at him in wide-eyed horror. To Douglas, they looked like feminine eyes, sea-green with terror visible in both.

"Get out of here!" A woman's voice shrieked, "Hurry, or they'll kill you too!" For a moment, Douglas wondered if there was anyone else in the room. "Quick, leave me." the woman's voice shouted. From behind him, Douglas heard the door forced open, making a horrendous noise. Turning around, he watched as about six or seven large ants were standing outside the door. They seemed to big to be real, they looked about as long as Douglas was tall. Their small beedy eyes flicked between Douglas and the dragonfly. "Oh, no!" The woman's voice wailed, fear evident in her high voice,"They've come for me!" Douglas thought he could hear sniffing and crying.

Watching as the ants marched into the room and seemed to form a line between Douglas and the door, he reached into his pockets and withdrew the lighter and the aerosol can. Dropping his penlight to the ground, Douglas flipped open the lighter and clicked it on. The flame wasn't very big, but it was enough. Douglas held it in his left hand. Behind that, he held the aerosol can in his right hand, the nozzle pointing at the flame and beyond that, at the ants. The ants started moving in a line towards him. Pressing down on the top of the aerosol can, Douglas started using the two items like an improvised flamethrower. He tried as hard as he could to keep his hands steady and started walking towards the column of ants. When they got within range, he opened fire and started to roast them. Watching as they started to scuttle around the room, trying to stop the fire destroying them, Douglas pushed through and continued to fire his home made flamethrower. Douglas watched as the ants all shriveled up and died from the flames. As they did, he started to feel light headed, and listened as he fell to the floor, to a distant air-raid siren blaring out the all-clear signal. Douglas' vision once more faded to black.


	3. Chapter 3: The Dragonfly Regains Her Win

Second Chances

Disclaimer: Konami own Silent Hill and Capcom own Resident Evil. I own neither. Surprise, surprise!

Chapter Three: The Dragonfly Regains Her Wings

Douglas sat up off the floor, holding his head. He had no idea how long he had been lying on the concrete. Looking around, he noticed the world seemed to have returned to its normal state. The boiler room was quite dark, but not as dark as the otherworld he had just left. Douglas noticed an unconscious form near one of the boilers. Dressed in a ruined purple dress, she had her head on her knees, her blonde hair flowing over them, so Douglas couldn't see her face.

"Hello?" Douglas called out, "Are you okay?" Those two phrases illicited a reaction. Just not the one Douglas was hoping for. He had been hoping for her to at least tell him her name. Not let out a sqeak and clamber behind one of the boilers. Douglas just stayed where he was. "Sorry if I startled you." He watched as the woman poked her head out from behind the boiler. Her beatiful face was radiating fear, her sea-green eyes seeming to radiate terror.

"Oh, it's you." She said, softly before crawling out from behind the boiler and sitting in front of it, leaning her back against it. "The guy who saved me."

"Huh?" Douglas said, confused.

"Back there," the woman said, quietly, "from the, the, _ants_." Douglas watched as the woman seemed to tremble slightly. Now that he could get a better look at her, he recognised who she was.

"Alexia?" Douglas watched as she looked up at him. "Doctor Alexia Ashford of Umbrella?"

"Ms. Ashford." Alexia stated, quietly, "I'm not with Umbrella anymore."

"What happened here?" Douglas asked, lighting up a cigarette before offering the pack to Alexia, who refused.

"Well, it's kinda hard to explain." Alexia stated, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"Try to start from the beginning." Douglas encouraged.

"In that case, this all began when I..." Alexia began, resting her head on her knees, "when I died." Douglas nodded, taking in this little piece of information. "You see, I gave over my life in the pursuit of knowledge. I worked for the Umbrella Corporation to research viruses that could be used as bioweaponry. But I chased a particular dream of mine." Alexia looked away.

"What kind of dream?" Douglas prompted.

"World Domination." Alexia stated, bluntly. "I saw myself as a queen and due tomy fascination for how ant colonies behaving, I saw humanity at large as nothing more than worker ants." She turned away, not wanting to catch Douglas' eye.

"You mentioned that you died, what happened after?" Douglas questioned.

"I woke up here." Alexia stated slowly, "In my own personal hell. I have no idea how much time has passed since I first woke up and now, but every day since I woke up, I've always been..." Alexia trailed off.

"Been what?" Douglas asked.

"Been eaten. Devoured. By ants." Alexia stared at the floor. "I would stay conscious the whole time, unable to move very much and totally unable to stop them. After I slipped out of consciousness with them swarming me, I would wake up and they would start again." Alexia turned to look at Douglas. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

"I drove into town and my car broke down." Douglas stated.

"And so you came here?" Alexia asked.

"Well, I sorta received a note asking me to come here."

"From the man in the brown jacket." Alexia stated quietly. Douglas stared at her.

"What was that?"

"Well, before my last death." Alexia began, "A man walked into my hell, dressed in a brown jacket, jeans, white shirt and a navy waistcoat. He said that someone was coming, who might be able to help me. Then he left." Douglas reached into his coat pocket, retrieving his wallet. Removing a picture from it, he held it out for Alexia to see.

"Was this the man you saw?" Douglas asked, Alexia took the picture and looked at it.

"Yes. Who is he?" Alexia handed the photo back.

"His name's Harry Mason. He died about four years ago. Murdered in cold blood." Douglas stated, clinically. "You see, this woman wanted to find a girl who came from here. So she hired me. I found her living with Harry. He was her adoptive father. The woman who hired me ordered his killing."

"Oh awful." Alexia said.

"It doesn't matter any more. The woman who ordered the killing is gone. Cheryl has moved on." Douglas said, coldly.

"But you still think about him." Alexia said, quietly. Douglas nodded, before standing up.

"Let's get back upstairs, instead of sitting down here in the dark and think about what we do next." Alexia stood up, shakily. Douglas opened the door and waited for her. Alexia walked slowly, staggering slightly. They both walked up the stairs to the second floor and down the corridor leading to the library. Douglas again opened the door leading into the room, which looked the same as when he had left it. Alexia walked over and sat down in one of the wooden chairs, gripping the table with her hands. Douglas sat down near her and passed her one of the files. Alexia took it and flipped it open, before scanning the contents.

"Albert Wesker's personnel file from Umbrella." Alexia mumbled, "But it's too light, normally it'd be filled with evaluations and his initial application should be at the front." Douglas passed her a second file. Again, Alexia scanned it. "William Birkin's. What is up with these files? They're all wrong." Douglas held the final file in his hands. Alexia took one look at the cover and then glanced at Douglas' face. Now he could see the emotion welling up in her eyes.

"Can I have my file, please?" Alexia asked, holding out her hand. Douglas sighed and handed over the brown file. Alexia opened it and carefully read it, tears starting to stream from her eyes. Douglas pulled out the sheet of paper with the weird handwriting from out of his coat pocket and started to study that. "All the other files had 'Justice and revenge are being served' written in them." Alexia said between tears, "But mine's been altered." Douglas looked up and stared at the file.

"How's it been altered?" Douglas asked, standing up to read it over Alexia's shoulder.

"Where it said 'are being served', someone's put a line through it and written 'have been served' in red pen." Alexia explained, "But the weird thing is, it's my handwriting." Douglas placed the other note down in front of her. As she picked it up, Douglas studied her reaction.

"Can you make anything of that?" Douglas asked.

"This first part, it's describing me." Alexia stated, pointing out the part with her finger. "The rest just refers to other people with delisions. That seems to be the central theme of this." Alexia shook the paper in the air. She put it back on the table and covered her eyes with her hands. "I'm sorry." She mumbled, "I'm so sorry." Douglas sat down opposite her.

"I don't know what happened to you or what you did." Douglas started, "But the past is just that, the past. It doesn't dictate the future. You can still change your course in life." Alexia put her hands on the table, tears still streaming out of her eyes.

"You really think so?" Alexia asked, looking at Douglas with pleading eyes.

"I know so." Douglas answered.

"You say that, but you still seem to carry as much guilt as I do." Alexia stated, her eyes softening. "What can't you let go of?" Alexia stood up and put her hand on Douglas' shoulder. "Is it Harry Mason?"

"Your crimes were committed when you weren't thinking clearly." Douglas explained, "Mine were done when I was. I'm more responcible for what I did than you are for what you did." Alexia stood back slightly, then picked up William Birkin's file. As she did so, a loose sheet of paper dropped out from the back. Alexia picked it up and unfolded it. "What is it?" Douglas asked.

"A map of Central Silent Hill." Alexia stated, "The hospital and the police station have been circled." Douglas glanced at the map and then unfolded his map of Old Silent Hill.

"This school was circled on this map when I found it near my car after it died." Douglas stated. "Maybe we should go to these places." Douglas picked up the files and ripped out the cover sheets.

"What are you doing?" Alexia asked.

"I'm taking these with us." Douglas replied, folding up the sheets, "They might come in handy but I'm not carrying the whole file."

"Where do we go first?" Alexia asked as they walked out of the library and down the stairs to the first floor.

"The hospital. We might be able to gather some medical supplies." Douglas stated, leading the way out of the school building. The pair walked down the street in an uneasy silence. Douglas heading back the way he had come, intending to go across the bridge just past the Balkan Church. Alexia was hanging back slightly, walking slowly and rubbing her right arm. After a while, Douglas noticed this and turned around to examine her.

"Are you injured?" He asked.

"Uh, not exactly." Alexia stated, continuing to rub her arm.

"Cold?" Douglas noted that Alexia was wearing a ruined purple dress. Alexia shook her head. "Then what is it?" Douglas asked, irritated.

"I was just, thinking." Alexia turned away, not wanting Douglas to see her face.

"About?" Douglas prompted. Alexia turned back around.

"It doesn't matter. We need to get to the hospital." Douglas nodded. The two started to walk quickly over the bridge towards Central Silent Hill.

_AN: Sorry for the long gap between updates, I got my hands on a copy of Code: Veronica X for £5 and was playing that for ages instead of actually writing. Anyway, in case anyone is still wondering, yes, this is alternate universe. I'm essentially going along the lines of what would the three biggest villians in the Resident Evil series be like after going through the Silent Hill treatment? Rate and review, please._


	4. Chapter 4: Alchemilla Hospital

Second Chances

Disclaimer: Konami own Silent Hill and Capcom own Resident Evil. I own neither. Surprise, surprise!

Chapter Four: Alchemilla Hospital

Douglas and Alexia ran across the bridge into Central Silent Hill. Following the map, they turned left and ran down the street until they could see the grounds of Alchemilla Hospital. Turning right and then left into the courtyard, Douglas opened the door and held it open for Alexia. Once she was in, he shut the door and looked around. The reception area looked ruined, the payphones were hanging off the wall, chairs and tables were smashed on the floor. The place looked like a ruin. Douglas climbed over the reception desk and grabbed a map of the hospital off the wall. Setting it down on the desk, Alexia walked over and together they looked carefully at the map. Unlike the previous maps Douglas had found, this one had no handwritten messages on it.

"Great, so where do we start looking?" Douglas said, irritably. He climbed back over the desk. Alexia traced her fingers over part of the map.

"How about we start on this floor, searching all the rooms we can." She suggested, folding the map up.

"But what if he looks different to how he normally is?" Douglas queried.

"Like I was when you found me, you mean?" Alexia asked. Douglas nodded. "That could be a bit of a problem." Douglas opened a door and walked into a room.

"Nothing except a bunch of medical equipment." Douglas stated, before trying the other doors in the room. They were all locked. Alexia walked into the room and sat down behind the desk.

"You should probably go find Birkin on your own." Alexia sighed, putting her head in her hand,s her elbows resting on the desk.

Douglas turned around to look at Alexia. He walked besides the table and held the edges with his hands.

"Why?" Douglas asked.

"Well, we didn't exactly get along, before." Alexia replied, slowly. "He was so egocentric, and relied on the fact that he had been Umbrella's youngest researcher to reinforce his own belief in himself. So, when I was recruited at age ten, that kind of knocked him heavily."

"So, it's a rivalry." Douglas stated. Alexia nodded. "And this other one, Albert..."

"Wesker? He was Birkin's best friend." Alexia finished. "But Wesker was driven by the pursuit of knowledge. It was only because they shared similar goals that they became friends." Alexia stood up as Douglas opened the door.

"You're coming with me." Douglas said, "There's no way I'm leaving you here alone. Besides, maybe seeing you will help William." The two walked down the corridor and to the door leading to the stairs. It was locked. They tried every door on that floor and the lift. Only one door was unlocked, the basement stairwell. Douglas lead the way down the stairs. At the bottom, Douglas pushed open the door and flicked his lighter on. The corridor was pitch black. Douglas walked out of the stairwell slowly, holding the lighter in front of him. Alexia walked behind him. There was a small stand in front of them with a handgun placed on it.

"Now why would there be a handgun in a hospital?" Douglas asked, picking up the firearm. Alexia looked around and gasped. In front of her were two figures swaying side to side. Their movements were errily similar to the movements of people Alexia had seen in the base after...

"T-Virus!" Alexia shrieked, yanking Douglas' arm, "You have to shoot them in the head. Their infected!" The two figures turned as a result of Alexia shouting. One was a nurse and the other Douglas presumed was a doctor. The pair had blood pouring out of their heads and were moaning. Douglas realised that both of them should be dead from the blood loss. And the fact that half the doctor's face was missing, having been bitten off, convinced him. Douglas lined up the gun and shot twice. The two hospital staff fell down and stopped moving. Douglas peered closer at the two. The nurse was wearing a blood streaked white dress, white shoes and a red cardigan. The doctor was wearing a grey suit. Douglas searched the man's pockets. In one he found a key. The label on it read 'Basement Storeroom'. Douglas turned and put the key in the lock.

"Wait, Douglas!" Alexia cried, "My head hurts." Douglas turned as Alexia fell to her knees and fell face first onto the floor.

"What the?" Douglas said, before he too passed out, the sound of an air raid siren in his ears.

Douglas came round slowly for the second time. This time, Douglas got to his knees and started looking for Alexia. She was still unconscious. Douglas crawled over to her and started shaking her shoulders. Alexia's eyes fluttered open. Dazed and confused, Alexia sat up and took in her surroundings. Unlike the school, Alchemilla hadn't gone all blood and rust. Instead, it had changed to show steel metal walls and white tile floors. Alexia started shivering.

"What's wrong?" Douglas asked, grabbing her shoulders. Alexia stared up at him, the fear radiating out of her eyes.

"I-It's Umbr-r-" Alexia stuttered.

"It's what?" Douglas demanded.

"Umbrella." Alexia squealed, still shaking. Douglas eased up. He recognised that name.

"Umbrella? As in the Umbrella Corporation those files were from?" Douglas asked. Alexia nodded. "What the hell would they be doing in Silent Hill anyway?"

"It's Birkin." Alexia answered, slowly, "It has to be." As she said that, Douglas heard a loud, scraping noise echoing up from somewhere. Douglas watched as a door was wrenched from it's frame and thrown across the corridor. Douglas raised his handgun as a giant monstrosity marched through the ruined doorframe, dragging a metal bar. The lower half was still human in appearance, but the top half had been replaced by thick, grey skin pulled taut over huge veins and muscles. The head of the creature was still human in appearance. It was at the head that Douglas aimed his handgun.

"Sherry!" The monstrosity called out, lifting up its metal bar.

"She's not here, Will." Alexia stated, standing up and staring straight at the mutated form of Doctor William Birkin, "It's only us here." Birkin started to swing the metal bar at her, but he stopped in mid air. Alexia stared at the bar and then back to its owner.

"Al, Al, Al." Birkin moaned, unable to say her name properly. Alexia walked towards the former researcher, holding her right hand on the metal bar. Douglas stared as she walked forward, continuing to aim his weapon at Birkin's head.

"Will, you need to let go." Alexia said, reaching up and touching the side of his face. Birkin's eyes stared dully down at her. "You don't have to live in this form anymore."

"Ann?" Birkin moaned, cocking his head to one side, "Sherry?" Alexia shook her head. Birkin moaned his daughter's name once more before collapsing onto his knees, dropping the metal bar as he did so. Alexia took a couple of steps back. Douglas lowered his handgun. William's massive, mutated arms started to get smaller, resembling normal human hands. In no time at all, Douglas was staring at a completely human William Birkin, who screamed his daughter's name one final time before slumping forward. Douglas started to feel light headed. Sinking to his knees, he watched Alexia fall to the floor. Douglas closed his eyes, the sound of an air-raid siren dying off in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5: Becoming Human

Second Chances

Disclaimer: Konami own Silent Hill and Capcom own Resident Evil. I own neither. Surprise, surprise!

Chapter Five: Becoming Human

For the second time that day, Douglas found himself waking up on the floor. Near him, feminine sounding groans indicated that Alexia was coming around as well. As Douglas got up, he noted the figure of a skinny man, sitting down in the corner of the room with his back leant to the wall, his head down. Even though Douglas couldn't see his face, the mess of dirty blond hair on the man's head was enough to identify him as Doctor William Birkin.

"Doctor Birkin." Douglas started, addressing the former Umbrella scientist.

"Leave me alone." William mumbled, "Get out of here."

"William..." Alexia said,

"I'm not worth your pity." William shouted, interrupting her. Alexia's eyes flared at this interruption.

"I wasn't giving you any." Alexia spat, "Just tell us what we need to know and we'll be on our way."

"What makes you think I know anything?" William spat back, glaring up at her. Douglas turned his attention rapidly between the two scientists.

"Let's see, you were wandering around a hospital and moaning your daughter's name." Alexia said, folding her arms.

"Sherry? Have you seen her?" William asked, looking at both Alexia and Douglas. They both shook their head.

"Then, I've failed." William said, sadly lowering his head.

"Failed at what, Doctor?" Douglas asked.

William sat down on the bed and held his head up with his hands. They had relocated from the basement to the examination room on the first floor. Alexia was sitting in a swivel chair and Douglas was leaning against the door. William looked up at both in turn, before addressing the floor.

"We were brought here for our sins." William started, his eyes fixating on his shoes. Douglas strained a little to hear him.

"Whatever you two did, it couldn't be bad enough to justify this." Douglas commented. The two scientists glared at him for a moment, before they both stared at the floor.

"We, we worked for the pharmaceutical corporation Umbrella." Alexia started. William laughed slightly at that. His laugh sounded hollow.

"Worked is a subjective term." William explained, "We lived in their facilities, eat and drank their food, used their supplies. They kept us alive for as long as they needed us. As soon as our existence would prove, unnecessary for the corporation, we were targetted for sanitation."

"Sanitation?" Douglas asked, cocking his head.

"Termination." William stated, "By Umbrella's own hired guns." At this, William unbuttoned his shirt. Clearly visible on his chest were a dozen small scars. They looked like healed over bullet wounds.

"How did you survive that?" Douglas asked, shocked. He knew there were plenty of shady individuals and companies, but to stoop to murder for no other reason than someone was deemed unnecessary shocked the old detective.

"I didn't." William stated.

"Virus?" Alexia asked quietly. William nodded.

"The very reason they came for me was to retrieve it." William said, "I didn't want to just give up my life's work very easily, so a trigger-happy operative let loose with his machine gun."

"I'm sorry, but I don't get how a virus would prevent someone dying." Douglas stated. Alexia sighed.

"Umbrella was working to develop Bio Organic Weapons, or B.O.W.s for short." Alexia started.

"To that end, they researched and developed a range of viruses designed to turn living organisms into near unstoppable weapons." William finished.

"Biological warfare? But, that's illegal!" Douglas stated.

"Umbrella didn't care." William explained, "They had deep pockets. Their research was conducted in secret and anyone who got too close or attempted to leak it was used as test subjects."

"And you two were involved in that?" Douglas stated, the contempt barely restrained from his voice.

"We were absorbed in our research. We had no idea of how it would affect people, we only wrote down combat statistics in the lab reports." William said.

"My ancestors helped to found and shape Umbrella." Alexia explained, sadly, "My brother and I grew up in an underground facility in Antartica. So naturally, we never knew anything was wrong. When everything around you is all you've ever known, how do you know truth from fiction?" When Douglas didn't respond, Alexia continued, "Our entire surroundings were designed to keep the truth of what we were creating away from us."

"And you?" Douglas turned to William.

"I was young and naïve." William stated, "I was fresh out of University, and Umbrella were recruiting, offering triple the starting salary of even the second highest employers. How could I refuse? And then there was their training facility, where we were indoctrinated completely."

"Indoctrinated?" Douglas queried.

"They took a group of recruits and retrained them. Desensitised them to the horrors of what they were doing. Gave them the tools and techniques to continue the research. And then let us loose in laboritories with a near unlimited supply of test subjects." William sighed and stood up, heading for the window. Staring out into the fog, he continued, "Maybe that's why we're here."

"And this person?" Douglas asked coldly, retrieving the third personnel document from his jacket and handing it to William. The scientist stared at the paper.

"Albert Wesker, he was my lab partner at the training facility." William stated, "He moved on to the intelligence division of Umbrella, going undercover in the local police department to suppress any investigations into Umbrella's work." William let go of the paper and let it float down to the floor, where it landed at Alexia's feet, face up so she could see the photograph on it. Alexia stared at it.

"We have information that indicates he is at the police station." Douglas stated, trying to fill the silence that had built up over five minutes. William turned around and leaned against the wall.

"Did the man in the brown jacket tell you that as well?" William asked. Alexia and Douglas both raised their eyebrows.

"Did you see a man as well?" Alexia asked, William nodded. Douglas retrieved the photo of Harry Mason from his pocket and handed it to the scientist.

"Was this him?" Douglas asked. Again, William nodded. "What did he tell you?"

"He said that there was a chance I'd be able to see my family again." William said, regretfully. "But that I would have to find my way to them on my own."

"We should head to the Police Station." Alexia said, standing up and heading for the door. Douglas opened it and the three walked through the reception area and out into the courtyard. Walking through the gates, the three headed out into the fog.

_AN: Rate and review, please._


	6. Chapter 6: Silent Hill Police Station

Second Chances

Disclaimer: Konami own Silent Hill and Capcom own Resident Evil. I own neither. Surprise, surprise!

Chapter Six: Silent Hill Police Station

Douglas led the way to the small two story building that served as Silent Hill's Police Station. William and Alexia hung back, walking only quickly enough to avoid losing Douglas in the fog. Since the group had left Alchemilla Hospital no one had exchanged so much as one word. Douglas looked back over the riddle he had found in the library of Midwich Elementary. He understood the first two parts corresponded with Alexia and William, but the last two parts were still meaningless for him. Finally getting to the front doors, Douglas pushed them open and held them for the two stragling scientists. Looking around the foyer of the Police Station, there was no sign of movement, human or otherwise. William walked over to the front desk and climbed over it. Douglas watched as William started to read through a big book on the desk.

"What are you doing?" Alexia asked, trying one of the doors and finding it locked.

"Looking through the charge sheets. They're all pretty standard low level crime." William said, flipping through it. He stopped when a part caught his eye, "Except these three sheets." William said, ripping them out of the folder and placing them on the desk for the others to see. Douglas and Alexia walked over to read the pages. Alexia stopped reading one and looked straight at William.

"They're ours." The two said together. Douglas read the three sheets over again.

_Name: Alexia Ashford_

_Age: 27_

_Crime: Facilitating the creation of bio organic weaponry._

_Human experiments on Edward Ashford and Steve Burnside._

_Status: Released, charge dropped._

_Name: William Birkin_

_Age: 36_

_Crime: Facilitating the creation of bio organic weaponry._

_Conspiracy to commit murder of James Marcus._

_Executing the staff of Umbrella's Arklay Training Facility by detonating the self-destruct system._

_Murder of numerous Umbrella operatives._

_Status: Released, charge dropped._

_Name: Albert Wesker_

_Age: 69_

_Crime: Facilitating the creation of bio organic weaponry._

_Conspiracy to commit murder of James Marcus._

_Causing the deaths, both directly and indirectly of all but four members of the Raccoon City Police Department Special Tactics And Rescue Squad (STARS)_

_Causing the deaths of numerous individuals, both civilian and military._

_Status: Unknown._

"How can someone's charge sheet read 'Status: Unknown?" Douglas complained, "They're either charged or released." William looked up and then ran through the door behind the desk. Climbing over, Alexia and Douglas followed after him, watching him round a corner and run straight into one of the offices. Running in behind him, Douglas noticed a man dressed in a black suit sitting behind a desk clutching a pistol.

"Albert Wesker, I presume." Douglas said, coldly. The man just looked up at Douglas with blue eyes. Albert Wesker, former STARS captain, was sitting behind the desk in a black suit with a black turtle neck. The only thing missing from his person were his sunglasses. William and Alexia just stared at Wesker, not saying a word. Wesker's eyes moved over each of them in turn before returning to look at the pistol in his hand.

"So, you've been set free." Wesker remarked, his voice sounding metallic from lack of use, "Are you really so naïve as to think you can escape?"

"Escape from what?" William challenged. Wesker looked at him as if William was insane.

"Your punishment, of course." Wesker stated, "It's the reason we're here. We created and caused death. So therefore, we must die and be reborn, only to die and be reborn." The three watched as Wesker raised the pistol.

"Wesker, we're free." William stated, stepping closer to his friend, "You can come with us. We can find our way out."

"You might be able to." Wesker stated, defeat evident in his tone, "But I cannot go with you." Wesker turned the pistol towards himself. "I have no choice, but to die by my own hand." Douglas slammed both his hands on the desk.

"You do have a choice." Douglas roared, "Don't be so stupid as to throw it away with a bullet." Douglas threw all the notes he had found in the library on the table. Wesker glanced down at them, his eyes scanning their contents. Douglas started pointing out significant parts of the documents.

"'Alexia Ashford, justice and revenge have been served.'" Douglas shouted, pointing to the page from Alexia's personnel file, his hand hovering over her handwriting. He turned to the next one.

"'William Birkin, justice and revenge have been served.'" Wesker noticed that, just like Alexia's William's had been written in his own handwriting. "What's it going to say on yours, Albert?" Douglas stated, pointing out Wesker's own personnel file entry. Wesker stared at the enraged detective. Douglas was shocked to see the man's eyes were tired.

"Even if they overcame their guilt, I cannot follow." Wesker said, staring straight at the end of the pistol.

"That's delusional thinking, Wesker." Douglas growled, "Repentance doesn't come out of a gun. Bullets come out of a gun. Death comes out of a gun. But not repentance. You can't put right the wrongs you caused by decorating the wall with your blood." Wesker's grip on the gun weakened slightly.

"So where does repentance come from?" Wesker challenged, "If not from death, where is it?"

"Life." Douglas turned around, staring at the person who had spoken. Wesker also stared at Alexia, as she stared back at him, "It was in life we caused the problems." Douglas watched William nod in agreement.

"I think I understand you," William began, looking at Alexia, "If we cause the problems in life, it is only in life we can find the solutions."

"You're both delusional." Wesker stated, "Sins and repentance cannot be balanced like an equation."

"Why not?" William challenged, "Both have to be instigated. They don't just happen." Alexia nodded at this.

"We chose to do what we did." Alexia stated, "But we can also choose to either continue repeating our mistakes, or making amends for them." Wesker shook his head.

"Where's your proof of that?" Wesker demanded, falling back on the one thing he had left, his logic, "Where's your evidence? Where's your goddamn source?" Wesker shouted. "Neither of you are thinking clearly. You're not producing any effective arguments, just hypothesis." William and Alexia stared at Wesker, before responding.

"We are thinking clearly." William began, "For the first time in our lives, we are actually thinking."

"It's you who isn't thinking, Wesker." Alexia stated, "And blowing your brains out won't help you."

"So what will help?" Wesker shouted, standing up and glaring at her, as if challenging her.

"Letting go." Alexia stated.

Douglas stood back as William walked in front of the desk, placing his palms on it. Wesker had since sat back down, but was still holding the gun to his head.

"Think of it this way," William began, grabbing a chair and setting it in front of the desk opposite Wesker, "You die, you'll be reborn and keep being reborn. That isn't the solution."

"And what is the solution?" Wesker challenged.

"Breaking the cycle." William replied.

"Live." Alexia stated.

Wesker's eyes shook slightly as his finger eased closer to the trigger. None of the others moved. Wesker's hand started shaking. Douglas watched as Wesker's whole arm seemed to shake. Finally, Wesker made his move. William watched as the gun moved. It fell to the floor and bounced once, sliding under the desk. Wesker put his arm on his leg, staring at the surface of the desk. Douglas let loose the breath he hadn't even noticed he was holding as Wesker glanced at William and asked the simple question, "What now?" Douglas stood up as Wesker turned over the paper that Douglas had ripped out hours ago from his personnel file and read out what it said at the bottom.

"Justice and revenge have been served." Wesker read out. As he read that, the wall behind him seemed to melt away The room itself brightened. Douglas moved his hand up to shield his eyes. The three Umbrella scientists stared at the white light.

"We can leave." Wesker said, simply. He stood up and walked towards the light. As he reached where the wall had been, the light seemed to envelop him. William and Alexia stared as Wesker faded.

"Annette. Sherry. I'm coming." William said, walking slowly to the wall, fading as well. Douglas watched as Alexia turned back to him.

"Don't remain here." Alexia warned him, "You do not belong in this place." Douglas stared at her, a puzzled expression on his face. "You're the last." Alexia explained, "The riddle. It mentioned four people with delusions. I think I understand now. You're the fourth." Alexia walked closer to the wall and stopped to turn around once more. Douglas noticed that she was smiling, and that tears were starting to stream from her eyes. "Douglas, let go. Just live." Alexia turned towards the wall. "Alfred? Daddy?" Alexia called out as she walked into the wall. As she did so, the light faded and the wall returned. Douglas stared at it, before deciding on his next move.

_AN: Just one chapter left_, _please rate and review._


	7. Chapter 7: Reason To Live

Second Chances

Disclaimer: Konami own Silent Hill and Capcom own Resident Evil. I own neither. Surprise, surprise!

Chapter Seven: Reason To Live

Douglas walked out of the Police Station, alone. Walking silently, he made his was across the bridge into Old Silent Hill. Carefully retracing his steps back to the highway, Douglas climbed over the barrier. His car was just as he'd left it. Douglas got into the driver's seat and slammed the door. Clutching the steering wheel in one hand, he turned the key. The engine coughed a bit and died off. Douglas tried again, only to meet the same result. Douglas gave up, crossed his hands across the wheel and put his head on them.

"Going somewhere?" Douglas raised his head at the strange voice. Looking in his rear view mirror, he didn't notice anyone in the back seats. Turning around to check, he again didn't see anyone.

"Why is it most people cannot see what is right in front of their faces?" The voice asked again. Douglas turned and found himself face to face with a man he knew full well to be dead. Douglas wasn't scared however, the man was sitting calmly in the passenger seat, turned sideways to look at him. The brown jacket, the blue jeans. Only the hairline and face were different from the last time Douglas had seen him. If he had to take a guess, it was like Harry Mason had taken seventeen years off his face after dying. "Hello, Douglas." Harry said, cheerfully. Douglas stared at the man, then back to the radio of his car. Douglas couldn't keep eye contact for very long. "Something wrong?"

"I, I caused your death." Douglas stated, slowly. Harry just shook his head.

"Were you the one who stabbed me through the chest with a sharp blade and left me for my daughter to find? Were you the one who ordered the killing as revenge?" Douglas glanced up long enough for him to see the questioning look in Harry's eyes before he returned to staring at the radio.

"No?" Harry answered his own questions. "That is because you are not Claudia Wolf, or a member of The Order. If you're looking for someone to blame, their feet are where the blame lies."

"But, I found Cheryl, and you. I led Claudia to you." Douglas mumbled, his voice full of sorrow. Again, Harry shook his head.

"If you hadn't, Claudia would have found someone else who would. And they might not have had the conscience to help."

"But I didn't help." Douglas moaned, "I've never been able to help anyone." Douglas glanced at Harry again, who was smiling.

"Let's turn the radio on." Harry said, turning the car's radio on, "I've always found it easier to find my way with one. Especially after what happened here." The radio quietly emitted some static.

"Let's see," Harry started, holding up his hand, "First, you gave Cheryl a ride to Silent Hill." Harry said, extending one finger.

"And delivered her straight into Claudia's waiting arms." Douglas argued.

"Then, you helped her back out of here." Harry said, extending another finger, "You even helped her overcome her grief."

"But that doesn't make up for the fact that if it wasn't for me, Claudia wouldn't have found you so soon." Douglas argued. The radio blared static for a couple of seconds before it died down. A voice echoed out over the static, _"The past is just that, the past." _Douglas stared at the radio as his own voice echoed out of the speakers, _"It doesn't dictate the future. You can still change your course in life._" The radio blared static once more before it went back to quietly emitting white noise. Douglas stared up wide-eyed at the smiling Harry.

"Seeing it yet?" Harry asked, "You've helped pretty much everyone you've come into contact with. Because that's who you are."

"But, I didn't help them." Douglas mumbled quietly.

"Did anyone else save Alexia from yet another death?" Harry asked, "No. You did." The radio blared to life once again, this time reciting the riddle Douglas had found in the library. "Haven't you solved it yet?" The radio repeated the last part of the riddle, _"Four people marchining into their self-made oblivions, can they save themselves? Can they shatter they're delusions? Only time will tell."_ The radio once again died.

"Some people say Silent Hill started to call out to all those who had a troubled past." Harry stated, staring out the windscreen, "Some people who came thought Silent Hill called to punish them. Others thought they were being called to get over their problems. They were both right." Harry turned back to Douglas.

"If you hadn't intervened, Alexia would have been eaten, William would have beat himself into oblivion trying to find his wife and child. And Wesker would have shot himself." Harry stated, "And the cycle would have continued, never being broken. You broke the chain."

"But, I have to do this." Douglas stated, gripping the wheel. The radio blared to life once more, _"You do have a choice." _Douglas' voice shouted through the speakers, _"Don't be so stupid as to throw it away!"_ The radio faded back out. Douglas loosened his grip on the wheel. "What else can I do?" Once again, the radio answered him, _"Don't remain here." _Alexia's voice echoed out, _"You do not belong in this place. You're the last." _Once more, the radio faded out. Douglas stared at Harry.

"If you're looking for a reason to keep going, I cannot give you one." Harry stated, "That's for you to find. But I can tell you how to start looking." Douglas stared at him, waiting for him to continue, "Help people. You can start by delivering a message." Harry said, placing a letter on Douglas' dashboard. "It's up to you." Harry said, opening the door and getting out of the car. Shutting the door, Harry turned and leaned in through the window, "It's your life. And your call." Douglas turned the key and the engine came to life. Gripping the wheel, Douglas knew what he was going to do.

Cheryl woke up to the sound of the door bell ringing. She'd falled asleep in front of the tv again and it was eleven o'clock in the morning. Cheryl got up and ran to the door. Opening it, she found Douglas Cartland standing outside her door, holding an envelope.

"I was told to give you this." Douglas said, awkwardly. Cheryl took the envelope from him and ripped it open. Reading the contents, Cheryl gazed up at the old detective.

"Where did you get this?" Cheryl asked, tears coming to her eyes.

"Long story." Douglas said, dismissively.

"Dad?" Cheryl said quietly, reading the end of the letter. Inviting Douglas in, Cheryl shut the door to the sunlight pouring down outside. Unknown to Cheryl, there was someone else standing next to Douglas when Cheryl had shut the door. A man in a brown jacket, who was still smiling.

_AN: And so, my third fanfic ends on a much higher note than the last one I completed. Rate and review please._


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